The present invention is related to an apparatus and method for storing an ice slurry of an aqueous liquid of a fruit such as orange juice, grapefruit juice, pineapple juice, grape juice, apple juice and the like for subsequent use or reconstitution.
It is often the case that aqueous beverages must be stored under stabilized conditions in large quantities after preparation and prior to distribution to consumers. For instance, fruit juices such as orange, grapefruit, pineapple, grape and apple juice are pasteurized in order to deactivate enzymes and kill microorganisms, and stored under refrigerated conditions in order to retard temperature induced flavor changes and to control the presence of microorganisms. Juices may also be deaerated in order to control oxidation and accompanying degradation.
At present, it is a common practice that aqueous beverages such as orange juice which must be kept cold or frozen in order to avoid rapid deterioration and/or growth of microorganisms are stored in drums (e.g., 55 gallons), bags or in frozen blocks following their preparation and prior to packaging for distribution to consumers. The juice stored in this manner requires labor intensive systems for filling, storing and retrieving the juice. Furthermore, the cost of packaging material can add significantly to the selling price of the juice. Exposure during the retrieval process may cause loss of juice or flavor qualities and provides opportunities for contamination or adulturation. Open block storage of juices can have the disadvantage of losing water vapor and may leak concentrate during storage.
Other systems for storing ice slurries are known for purposes other than the storage of beverages. For instance, ice slurries have been used for cooling purposes such as in air-conditioning systems of commercial buildings. Such systems may operate by feeding water through a heat exchanger to convert part of the water to ice, feeding the resulting ice slurry to a storage tank, removing cold aqueous liquid from the storage tank and feeding it through a heat exchanger in order to cool a second fluid which is to be used for cooling purposes The now warm aqueous liquid is returned to the storage tank and is cooled by contact with the ice that is stored therein.
U.S Pat. No. 4,584,843 (Pronger, Jr. et al.) relates to a method and apparatus for storing an ice slurry for cooling purposes such as in air-conditioning systems of commercial buildings, which is said to increase storage capacity. Aqueous liquid is removed from storage tank (preferably from the lower part of the tank) and fed through a heat exchanger to convert at least part of the aqueous liquid to ice crystals. The resulting slurry is then fed to a distribution conduit system located in the upper part of the storage tank, where it flows through a plurality of nozzles and descends uniformly. The ice crystals are evenly deposited as a bed of ice with a horizontal surface. Cold aqueous liquid is then removed from the lower part of the storage tank and fed through a heat exchanger in indirect heat exchange with a fluid to be cooled for cooling purposes. The now warm aqueous liquid is then returned to the storage tank, where it is cooled via downward trikling through the ice therein.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,509,344 (Ludwigsen et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 4,596,120 (Knodel et al.), and U.S. Pat. No. 4,254,635 (Simon et al.) relate to other cooling systems.
While such cooling systems are applicable to some commercial cooling applications, there has been no disclosure or suggestion that they would be applicable to the storage of fruit juice type beverages. Moreover, such processes would not be effective for the storage of fruit juice beverages which must be kept at low temperatures because they expose the stored liquid to warm temperatures. Aqueous beverages including fruit juices such as orange juice and the like cannot be warmed to any appreciable degree due to stability and contamination concerns.
Ice slurries have also been prepared for the purpose of producing an ice slush. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,750,336 (Margen) relates to an ice slush apparatus for producing ice slush which is said to prevent ice build-up. An aqueous liquid is passed through a conduit having cooled walls in which ice particles can form. In order to prevent ice build-up on the conduit walls, a helical path is provided which causes the aqueous liquid to contact the cooled walls. The ice particles are drawn to the center of the helical flow due to their lower density while the heavier liquid portion moves toward the walls due to gravitational forces generated. However, this system is not designed for storing large quantities of liquids.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,096,709 (Barthel) relates to a rupture-preventing air-releasing water-freezing reservoir. To prevent rupture caused by the expansion of water upon freezing and at the same time release the warmer air after producing the freezing of water into ice, the reservoir is surrounded by duplex wall structure of insulating material such as styrofoam in the form of slabs spaced inward from the tank wall by compression springs. The air escapes through the interstices between the styrofoam after expending its freezing effect upon the body of water inside the inner styrofoam wall. The water located between the slabs is prevented from freezing by the insulating effect of the styrofoam. This system is not practical for use in storing large quantities of aqueous liquids.
It is therefore an advantage of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for storing an ice slurry of an aqueous fruit juice while substantially reducing the chances of rupturing the storage tank.
It is another advantage of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for storing an ice slurry of an aqueous fruit juice such as orange, grapefruit, pineapple, grape, apple and the like which allows for the release of pressure build-up within the ice storage tank caused by expansion of the liquid during ice formation.
It is also an advantage of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for the efficient storage of large quantities of an aqueous fruit juice in an ice slurry state.
It is a further advantage of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for storing an ice slurry of a fruit juice type beverage in a manner which maintains a substantially stable environment.
It is yet another advantage of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for storing a slurry of a heat labile fruit juice type beverage in large quantities under a commercially sterile or aseptic conditions while allowing for a melt down of the slurry substantially without leaving any ice while maintaining a temperature at which microorganism growth does not affect the stability of the beverage.